The political marketing frenzy of Gen Z

Author: Pitch

By Dani Gray: There is no doubt that whilst commuting to work, or simply popping out for a sandwich in recent months, you’ll have had to grapple your way through herds of environmental protesters. Yet unlike the peace sign gesturing hippies you’d imagine to be leading this wave of activism, it turns out they’re school children. Instead of scratching their heads at algebra, these students have opted to wave “save our planet” signs with mouths full of both chants and braces.

But what stirred all of this and why now?

Well you only have to turn to their MVP Greta Thurnberg, a
Swedish school girl activist, to realise what all the commotion is about. The
headline thief has captivated the world by her crucial words and actions.
Ingeniously deciding to skip school to protest outside her country’s parliament
has surged international attention and the initiation of movements such as “The
School Strike 4 Climate” which has seen 15,000 school children taking part
nationally- explaining the high pitched raucous outside your office.

Interestingly, this is what many NGO’s have been attempting
to achieve for years, so why is it that a young school girl has absolutely
smashed this in well under a year?

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that she has single-handedly
demonstrated how easily it’s done despite her age, gender and status. She is
both ordinary and extraordinary, the epitome of a role model who forces her
peers to beg the question, “if she can do it, why can’t I?”

The school girl activist is a great example of how genuine
relatability can not only reach out to your target audience but can create an
obligatory urge for them to join in on your crusade. Plus if there’s one thing Gen
Z are more scared of than climate change, it’s FOMO. If the trend is to be
environmentally, socially and politically aware (which it evidently is) and
you’re deemed as the right person to vocalize these beliefs then you’ve pretty
much got them under your spell.

Also summoning his army of angry youths is the unexpected comparison, British rapper, Slowthai. Recently, the 24 year old also showed us how tapping into youth activism could also enhance reach and attention.

The self-made rapper consistently expresses how there’s “nothing great about Britain” with lyricism and promotional campaigns that highlight shared social and political injustices. When promoting his forthcoming album, Slowthai utilized stripped back billboards located around London with a single statement such as, “78% of large companies in the UK pay men more than they pay women” written across them, each concluding with the album’s title, “Nothing Great About Britain”.

Clearly shown to have struck a chord with his audience, Slow Thai saw floods of coverage and social engagement as a result of his indignant billboards.

The rapper identified the conversation his audience of 18 to
24 year olds were having and seamlessly became a part of it. Yet Slow Thai
isn’t the only rapper we have seen uniting alongside youth zeitgeist.

Stormzy’s recently released track ‘Vossi Bop’ mentions,
“F*** the government and f*** Boris” as children dressed as the politician
dance around him in the music video. The song has claimed last week’s UK number
1 and in doing so has broken the record for the most amount of UK streams in a
week for a rapper. The confrontational lyric follows the discontent Stormzy
expressed during his 2018 Brit Awards performance when he condemned the
government’s handling of Grenfell, tuning into the frustrations also shared by
his young audience. With his outspoken yet relevant remarks, Stormzy has helped
the once niche music genre, grime, mark its place in the mainstream, even
landing himself as a headliner for the UK’s biggest festival, Glastonbury-
interesting to see what he pulls out the bag here to say the least.

Oddly, what a Swedish school girl activist and politically
charged rappers have in common is the ability to harness grassroots
conversations and bring them to surface. However, this isn’t a guaranteed
gambit, people/ organisations/ brands can’t just piggy back off of a topic
pulled from societal controversies. Take the Kendall Jenner and Pepsi fiasco
for example. Claiming an Instagram mogul as the face for a socially or
politically orientated campaign without reason was inevitably destined for epic
failure.

What we can take away from these examples, is that certain
demographics and subcultures will often lend an ear if what you have to say
inherently connects with them and are rightful of expressing these shared
values.

Youth activism in particular is on the rise and is a very
important conversation to keep an ear out for if we wish to remain relevant. No
doubt will we be seeing more from pop culture and brands as they try and close
in on this frustrated audience. However, the “voice of the youth” is not a
self-appointed role. It’s those who can prove how relatable they are that end
up earning that credibility and from what we’ve seen, those who have, are now leading
a snow-balling army of up and coming evangelists.